DAP Youth slams PAS for politicising Dewan Rakyat postponement

Summary

• PAS information chief Ahmad Fadhli Shaari has been criticised for politicising the postponement of the Dewan Rakyat sitting in June, which has been pushed to July.

• DAP Youth chief Woo Kah Leong says a postponement is unlike Perikatan Nasional’s suspension of Parliament a few years ago.

• Woo also notes the frequent absence of top PN leaders when Parliament convenes.

DAP Youth chief Woo Kah Leong has slammed PAS information chief Ahmad Fadhli Shaari for politicising a postponement of the Dewan Rakyat sitting, which has been moved to begin in July instead of next month.

This comes after Fadhli questioned the government’s motive for changing the dates, implying that it might have to do with ruling party leaders being busy with political activities.

“PAS has always been the expert in riding on any kind of issue, to the extent they could even politicise Parliament sitting dates.

“Those who are not aware might get confused and think that the Madani government has cancelled the Parliament sitting and is scared to face the opposition, like what Perikatan Nasional did not too long ago.

“But the reality is that only the sitting dates are changed, but some people (try to) link it with all sorts of alleged tricks.

“The story is simple. This is only a change of date, not suspending Parliament,” Woo said in a statement.

‘What about PN leaders’ attendance?’

The Perak state assemblyperson then questioned Fadhli on the Dewan Rakyat attendance rate among PN’s top leaders.

“When Parliament was in session, did the opposition chief, PN chairperson, or PAS president make use of the sessions to serve as a functional check and balance (for the government)?

“What are their rates of attendance, especially during the Prime Minister’s Question Time?” he said.

Earlier in the afternoon, Fadhli posted on Facebook saying he had just received a notification that the Dewan Rakyat sitting has been pushed to July 21 until Aug 28, instead of the initial dates between June 23 and July 31.

He said the postponement means the total number of consecutive days the Dewan Rakyat is not in session has gone up to 137, making it the third longest in history.

The first and second longest were when Parliament was suspended due to the May 13 racial riot in 1969 and the Covid-19 pandemic in 2021.

“...so what is the main reason for Parliament to be postponed for such a long period this time around?

“(Is it because leaders) are busy with party elections? Or are they busy planning for a new cabinet because some (ministers) are expected to resign?

“Or were they so busy travelling around that they could not complete the 13th Malaysia Plan draft (to be presented in Parliament)?” Fadhli said.

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